Needle stick injuries pose a great risk to healthcare professionals and the public at large if the used contaminated needles are not properly handled, and disposed of, after use. Indeed, the instances of transmission of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), hepatitis, and other potentially fatal contagious diseases has drastically increased over the last decade due to accidental needle stick injuries.
Various strategies to deal with this problem have been attempted, both for syringe needles and butterfly needles. One approach involves the use of a cap to cover the needle after use, to prevent contact with the needle. This cap can be as simple as the original plastic cap which is used to cover the needle prior to use. However, the motion required to replace the original needle cap allows for error resulting in needle contact. This is due to the relatively small diameter of the cap and the required movement of a hand toward the contaminated needle during cap replacement.
Other approaches provide for additional means, such as a shield, for covering the needle after use. Syringe needle shielding systems, for example, generally enclose the body of the syringe within a sheath designed to be longitudinally displaced over the syringe needle after use, thereby preventing multiple uses of the needle and accidental needle stick injuries. A highly effective example of a syringe shield is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,255 to Vallelunga et al., entitled APPARATUS FOR SHIELDING A SYRINGE NEEDLE, incorporated herein by reference. Similarly, butterfly needle shielding systems generally include some type of guard apparatus into which the butterfly needle is pulled after use. Unfortunately, currently available butterfly needle shielding systems are difficult to manufacture and use, and provide a limited degree of protection against needle stick injuries.
In order to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention provides several embodiments of a butterfly needle shield designed to effectively prevent pricks and contact with contaminated butterfly needles .